


Bunny and Knight

by VoyageofPromises114



Category: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Genre: Blood and Violence, Bonding, Demon & Human Interactions, Fantasy, Gen, Gothic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28545771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoyageofPromises114/pseuds/VoyageofPromises114
Summary: A Bunny-Demoness made immense by cruel experiments...A Human Knight troubled by the nightmares of his past....When the two meet, can this Demon heal his internal wounds?Can this Knight protect her from those who want her power?(A prequel & takes place within the world of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.)
Kudos: 1





	1. Captured

_**Where am I?**  
_  
Where is she? Why can’t she move? She opens her eyes to see a dark, cold place. Her arms shackled in chains. Looking down is a puddle. A beautiful pale face with dark red eyes and horn-like red black ears is what she sees, wearing a blue strapless corset teddy, black pantyhose, and sharp curve-like shoes. Her red heart-shaped tail is there, fortunately.   
  
A Lili is a half-rabbit demon who has lopped off many a head with their scythe-tip shoes. Their less modest appearance can catch men off-guard and their deadly martial arts to kill.   
  
This nameless Lili is one of many Lilis’. Except much shyer than her sisters.  
  
She tugs the chains. Chains embed in blue runes. Was she summoned? She hears voices coming to her, louder and louder. She tries to break them, but it will not bulge. The heavy metal door opens to reveal five hooded humans in purple robes. They lighten the area just a bit.  
  
“Another Lili? Lovely.” The fifth said.  
  
They are alchemists or what's left of them. Years ago, the Alchemists Guild opened the Gates of Hell when the age of machines threatened their existence. It was supposed to scare but instead brought unspeakable destruction to most of England and the Guild. The Church banished most of the demons and executed every alchemist. Almost.  
  
“Let’s hope this one does not explode.” The third human nods.  
  
 ** _Explode_?**  
  
“Give her small doses this time. Slow and steady....” The first holds a syringe. In it is a faint glow of blue. They approach her slowly and inject her on her neck.  
  
 ** _What is...Why do I feel....?_**  
  
Then darkness.  
————

  
She wakes up, screaming in pain. She feels her skin stretching impossibly along with her bones growing as well, threatening to burst out of her skin.   
**  
_What are they doing to me?!_**  
  
“She’s growing.” They marvel at their cruel creation. “Remember, small doses.”  
  
The Lili screams fill the freezing room. Her high-pitch screams turn lower and lower until her cries turn into a deep roar that shakes the room. The humans' gasps as the Lili they took grew into giant proportions.   
**  
_Why is everything so small? It hurts! It hurts!!_**  
  
Shackles still keep her from breaking free. The Lili roars at them before passing out from exhaustion.  
  
“....Put more chains. Make sure the chains tighten. For food, get a prisoner we captured. Continue to balance body mass.”  
———

  
The Lili, now large, lost count of days? Months? Years? Chained in this cold dungeon.   
  
_**Ki** **ll me...**_  
  
They shocked her, beat her, injected her with something that causes so much pain.  
 **  
 _I will kill you...RELEASE ME!_**  
  
She roars at them destroying their equipment with her voice. They cut her tongue and muzzled her.   
**  
_My voice, what have you done?! I will kill you all!_  
**  
The only small comfort is the food: human flesh. Delicious for demons. At first, it was okay, but later on, they feed her old rotten bodies, sickening her. Her well-toned body now covered in scars: on her throat, both shoulders and her chest.  
  
She was forced to lie down as they tinker with her precious item: her collar clock. Every Lili has one as it is forbidden to be late for anything like the White Rabbit. Her clock is at 12:25.  
  
 ** _D_ _on't you dare!!_**  
  
When they turn back an hour, the Lili shrinks to human-size, still restrained.   
  
**_Am I back....to normal?_** She looks at her hands, then at them.  
  
When the minute hand reaches 12:25, Lili grew back.  
  
“One hour, I see. What happens if we go forward?” They turn one hour forward, and the bunny demon grew very large. She screams in pain as her body stretches again. Her veins glow blue along with her eyes  
  
 ** _Too much...Too much! Stop it! It's killing me! I feel like I’m going to explode!_**  
  
The humans ran for cover as she covers the room. Fortunately, she wasn’t big enough to break through the walls of her confinement.  
  
They quickly climb to her neck and dial back the hour, shrinking her back to her ‘normal’ size. The giant Lili attempts to bite them, earning her a fire to the face.  
  
“Let’s see. It seems default height is now....” One human tries to measure her only to get hit across the room with her tail. “50 ft. Leave him there. Stupid low alchemist.”  
  
“Hour back will send her back to 5-6 feet.” They write. “Human heights.”  
  
“Hour ahead will enlarge her....” Another looks around the room. “About a 100 ft. Maybe a bit more.”  
  
The giant Lili looks at them, confused at their gibberish talk.  
  
“Marvelous. The first humanoid demon to be like this. If only our Guild focused on creating titans first instead of sacrificing Shard-bounded children to open the gates of Hell.”  
  
“Let’s focus on bring back our Guild’s glory. Through her....” They pointed at the wounded Lili. “And after the Chruch for killing our brothers.”  
  
“And what of Alfred?”  
  
“That madman? Leave him be and his book hunting.” He looks at the Lili, who growls through her muzzle. “We more have plans for you.”  
  
 _ **Enough!**  
_  
The Lili roars, elbows owing the walls in which the room shakes violently.  
  
“Teps Salrenda!” A flash of powerful lightning hits her. She collapses to her knees in massive pain. The alchemists quickly leave, shutting the large door and the complete room darkness.  
———-

  
In total darkness, Lili looks back to keep some sanity. She remembers getting teased by her sisters for taking an interest in humans instead of killing them.   
  
She would rather get laughed at than this...torture. Tears roll down her cheeks as she cannot do anything but to pent up her resentment.  
 **  
 _Why me...? I just...I thought...No, no. I understand now..._**  
  
Now seeing humans at their worst, she can see what her sisters see. Once she is free, she will gleefully torture them and kill them all.  
  
 _ **When I'm free, I will crush them all...**  
_  
Those violent thoughts put her at ease, and she dreams of bringing nightmares...  
—————-

  
The giant Lili wakes up to the sound of blood-curling screams. She gets up, looks at the ceiling where the screams are coming.  
More screams, and it gets louder, heading closer to her...  
  
“Open the door! OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR.” There’s pounding, the clinging of keys following by something unlocking. Many humans wearing purple robes like her six tormentors swarm into the room in a panic. They quickly closed the metal door and locked it.   
  
“Riga Storæma!” Columns of flame erupt to light the torches.  
  
“He’s back!! The Shardbinder. To kill us all!” One man looks at the giant Lili. “We have to release her.”  
  
“Are you crazy!? She’ll kill us instead.” Another points to her. “She’s been here for a year. Nothing but a mindless beast!”  
 **  
 _A YEAR?!_**  
  
Her eyes widen at the insult and the revelation of her captivity. She growls at them and charges at them. Being chained, she barely reaches them before the chains pull her back. A sigh of relief escapes their mouths until there’s a bang on the door following by a giant sword piercing it. Another stab and out pops the locks out to the ground.   
  
The door opens to reveal a pale man in short grey hair wearing a brown shirt, dark pants, and a tattered cape. Most of his body appears glass-stained with his right eye void of any color save for his red iris.  
  
“....Gebel.”


	2. Cely

The unknown man slowly approaches them, dragging his large bloodied sword. The sword resembles a glass-stained pattern similar to his skin... Everyone stand still in fear while this Lili looks at him with curiosity.  
 **  
** _ **A weapon made from his skin? What is wrong with him?**  
_  
He passes through them, completely ignores their presence. He stops to look up and sees the giant bunny-demon in shackles.  
  
 _ **Demon? Human? Who are you?**  
_  
“It’s been two years,” The man mumbles, staring at her.   
  
Out of the group, a man in his 50s walks up. “Gebel-“  
  
“Two years!” He grips his great sword tightly that his crystallized hands cracked. “You tortured us, shoved demonic powers into us, sacrificed my friends to summon demons! All to fill your coffers in gold!”  
  
“It was meant to scare people away from science. From the age of Machines. We were desperate! We couldn’t let our Guild fall from existence!”  
  
“Then I’ll erase it...” Gebel growls, turning to face them. His eyes filled with rage and darkness. Some of the alchemists tried to flee only to be surrounded by demons of many kinds. From the small fairy-like Carabosse to a monstrous dragon.  
  
“Have mercy....” the old alchemist cried.   
  
Gebel grabs his throat. “Oh, I will.” He smirks, laughs. “You’ll be the last to die. But first...Tis Rozain!” A beam of light escapes from his fingers. It cuts through every shackle of the giant Lili.   
  
The legs, arms, and neck, now unchained. She gets up.  
  
 _ **FREE! I’m FREE!**_  
  
The Lili rips the muzzle off to reveal a year’s worth of rage, resentment to the tormentors. She roars, displaying a horrible smile showing rows of sharp teeth. Cracking her neck and knuckles, she slowly approaches them, towering them. The ground shakes every step she takes.  
  
“Dinner is served, my dear Lili...” Gebel hisses. He rips the hood of the man, forcing his soon-to-be-last victim to watch the upcoming massacre.  
  
Their screams are music to the giant Lili’s ears as she tears them apart.

  
————-  
On the green hills, Gebel and the giant Lili watch the place razed by the demons they unleashed.  
  
The giant Lili sighs in solace. She lies on the grassy fields, watching the sun setting up. The first time she sees the Sun and feels it’s warmth. Not all demons are weak to the light. She stares at her hands, bloodied from dishing out her revenge. Dirty but a small price for freedom.  
  
 ** _Free at last..._** She licks the blood from her lips.  
  
“Yes, you are.” Gebel looks at her, smiling. He is also covered in blood.  
  
The giant Lili looks at her savior, stunned. **_Can you hear my thoughts?_**  
  
Gebel nods, “Yes, I can read your mind.” He sits next to her, setting his greatsword on the grass. “You and I aren’t so different.”  
  
 ** _But you are a human..._** She narrows her eyes at Gebe and his crystal-like skin. **_Or a living rock..._**  
  
“I don’t know...” He admits, clenching his chest. “They made me a monster. This Shard curse makes me less of a human.” He removes his shirt, revealing his crystallized skin.   
  
“I am a Shardbinder...“ Gebel explains. “Those humans we killed....they turn demons into crystals or Shards, and they put it into the flesh of humans, preferably children. When we grew up, we are sacrificed to summon your kind here. Only two are left: myself and....my best friend who is in a coma...”  
  
 _.. **..Why was I summoned?**_ Her bunny ears twitch. **_What did they do to me?_**  
  
“....To make you a weapon, I believe. Greed. Terror. But they’re dead. They won’t harm you again...What is your name? My name is Gebel.”  
  
The giant bunny-demon sits up. She tries to remember only to remember the cold dark prison that nearly drove her insane. **_I don’t know...Not anymore..._**  
  
“Then, let’s make one.” Gebel smiles. “Lili...what rhymes with that?”  
  
She tilts her head, confused.   
  
“Hm.” Gebel strokes his chin. “How about...Cely? It means ‘happy and beautiful.’”  
  
She stares at him only to blush and smile. **_Cely...I like it_.** She nods.  
  
The Shardbinder chuckles. “Cely it is.” Grateful, Cely gently picks Gebel up to her face. He lifts his hand and pets her.   
  
The Lili named Cely cannot help but giggle.


	3. White Rabbit

Cely watches as the demons continue to scour the facility that she confined. A day passed since she was freed by a Shardbinder named Gebel, who stands on her right shoulder.  
  
Since then, she will never forget this man who also gives her a name: Cely.  
  
Now free, the giant Bunny-lady wants to return the favor: destroying that facility with her new-found powers. However, Gebel tells her not to much to her disappointment  
  
“No,” Gebel assures. “There are...things down I want to find. Some books.”   
  
_**Books?**_ Cely tilts her head and wonders if... _**Can books fix my voice? Return to my normal size?  
**_  
“Perhaps.” Gebel watches at a hound-like demon dragging a screaming alchemist through the building. Those caught will be sent to the room that Cely was once tortured, waiting to be judged by the feared Shardbinder. “Or their tongue might.”  
  
Seeing those purple robes causes Cely to growl before Gebel comforts her with a pat on the head. “Rest. You have been through so much, Cely.” He turns into a bat and flies to the facility to interrogate his new prisoners.  
  
Cely looks at herself. **_I’m so big. The trees are bushes to me. I wonder what my sisters will think of me?_ **She removes the clock from her spiked collar.   
  
12:25  
  
She frowns. _ **I’m late for my date...**_ A closer look and Cely notices the hands never moved. **_What have they done to you?_** She shakes the object. _**Maybe if...**_  
  
She turns the hand counter-clockwise to 11:25. She shrinks down to a human height of between 5-6 feet. _**Everything’s big again.**_ She hears the clock ticking and the second hand moving forward. _**So I have one hour if I don’t touch it...**_  
  
She changes the clock back to 12:25, which reverts to her big 50ft size.   
  
_**Oof!**_ The sudden growth causes Cely to fall on her butt, making the area shake for a bit. The clock stops moving again. The bunny sighs, rubbing her behind and tail. **_At least my watch grows and shrinks with me._**  
  
She turns the clock clockwise to 1:25. A massive surge of energy flows through her veins along with her body, experiencing a painful transformation. Cely bit her lip to keep herself from screaming as she grows bigger. She clutches her knees as her body warps and stretches. When the growth stops, she stands a 100ft. Her veins illuminate blue visible to the eyes. Which speaking of eyes, her eyes glow blue.  
  
 _ **Now everything’s even smaller...**_ She gasps for breath, picking up a tree, which looks like a very small banquet of green flowers to her. _**I’m genuinely am a freak to my kind...**_ She flings it off to some lake.  
  
Cely sigh turns the clock to 12:25 before putting it back to her collar and retiring. She lies under the tree, thinking of the future ahead. Should she return to the demon world or stay here? Neither world would want her or do want her for some selfish reason.   
  
She should ask Gebel when he comes back, but first, a bunny nap.  
—————-  
“Cely?” Gebel asks. Upon hearing his voice, Cely quickly gets up from her rest.  
  
 ** _Gebel?_** She rubs her eyes after seeing him with a stack of books and a bag. _**You’re back! Did you find what you seek?**_ She rests on her stomach to see him better.  
  
“Of sorts.” He smiles. “They mentioned a book known as the Libre Logaeth. We’re getting somewhere.”   
  
Cely smiles at the news but notices the books. **_What are those_? **She points at a stack of paper.  
  
“These? Just books I found.” He conjures a chair and sits down. “I used to read them. Read them to my friends in terrible times. Brings small comfort.” Despite all the torture, there were some happy moments. Gebel remembers an alchemist who was like a father to the Shardbinders who gave them good food, read them stories, even defending them from further abuse. Gebel wonders, at this moment, if that alchemist is alive or murdered by his own hands or the Church did.  
  
 ** _Comfort..._** Cely carefully takes one book from the top and opens the hardcover with only a finger. _**Human...**_  
  
“Yes, stories made by humans. Sometimes we forget how creative we can be....” Gebel looks at the first page: a White Rabbit holding a clock. “Alice Adventures in Wonderland. Why not I read you one? Perhaps teach you-?”   
  
_**What’s the point of reading human dung!?**_ She hisses, pushing the book away to Gebel. **_They hurt us, made us into something horrible._**  
  
“Horrible? True. But I have a choice: to free you or walk away and kill those people myself. You had a choice too.”  
  
She pauses for a moment, thinking. _**A choice?**_ She blinks. _**Like was it the right thing to kill them?**_ Her big eyes stared down at the Shardbinder.   
  
“Do you think so? Why?”  
  
Cely thought a bit. She felt a little guilt in her demonic heart as a small bird lands on her nose. It looks at her and chirps before flying off. She nods. _**I think so. If they lived, they'd do the same with my sisters. Maybe others too. Human or not.  
**_  
Gebel nods in approval. “Now, you’re thinking what I’m thinking.”  
  
Cely scoffs. _**But humans are the worst. Enough with philosophies. Just read me that dumb book! I’m bored...**_  
  
The Shardbinder can’t help but laugh. “Alright. Let me jump to your-oh?” Gebel looks around, searching for Cely.  
  
 _ **Boo...**_ The Lili, now human-sized, waves.   
  
Gebel sighs as Cely walks up to him. The Bunny-demon smiles before her stomach rumbles for food. _**Any more humans?**_  
  
“Sadly no. Demons down there ate all the humans that I executed. But I found food in their kitchens.” He pulls out an apple from his bag and hands it to her. “Here. The Fruit of Knowledge.”  
  
Cely looks at the red fruit and bites it. Her bunny ears perk up! Her eyes widen of how sweet and crunchy it is, devouring it completely. _**This is delicious! No wonder the Aellos**_ (harpy demons) _**are hoarding them! Do you have more?  
**_  
“That I do. Come.” They walk up to a tree where Gebel cuts it through clean with his greatsword. He pushes the log down a hill before sitting next to a stump and dumping bag contents onto it.  
  
Fruits, vegetables, dried meat. Cely looks at them marvelously, drooling. She quickly wipes her mouth when Gebel laughs.  
  
“No need to be modest. Dig in.”   
  
And Cely did. Like a rabbit munching a carrot. As she eats, Gebel reads her a book about a knight saving a princess from the evil wizard. "Once upon a time..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a couple of references to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland:
> 
> The Bunny-Demon Lili in Bloodstained is based on both the White Rabbit and the Red Queen. The clock on her neck is exactly 12:25 & her demon profile reads: "A half-rabbit demon who has lopped off many a head."
> 
> The 11:25 & 1:25 is basically DRINK ME & EAT ME.
> 
> Also note: Gebel is not the Knight. The Knight will appear in later chapters.


	4. Left Behind

_“Cely...”_  
  
Cely the Lili (Bunny-Demon) did not hear the call of her name as she sleeps on the lush grass of the hills close to the forest at night. She wasn’t alone sleeping; dozens of her sisters sleep next to her, or on her ranging from her head down to her lap.  
  
A few days earlier, Cely found out that some of her Lili sisters were looking for her all this time, not realizing she was in a different world before Gebel opened a portal to let more demons in. Witnessing her 40 of 666 sisters passing through, the giant Cely let out a yell to catch their attention. The sight of Cely made her sisters scream in delight and jump into the giant’s open arms. They almost knocked Cely to the ground from the sudden tackles, not that she minds leaving a large mark on the ground. There was laughter and teasing about why she was so huge. Cely answered that she ate too many humans, and they all laughed. They also asked of her scars, which Cely tearfully told them of what the Alchemists did to her. Rather than teasing her, they swore to kill humans and eat them to grow big like her.  
  
Back to the present, Cely and her sisters were sleeping until a series of loud stomps and chatter rudely wake them. The giant Lili groans, sitting up and causing her small sisters to hop out of the way as Cely rises.  
  
 _ **What’s happening?**_ Cely’s ears perk up. She sees hundreds of various demons marching to the facility. **_Why are they gathering around the place?_**  
  
“Look!” Her sisters point at the giant moon. “So huge! Bigger than you, sis!”  
  
Gebel hadn’t shown up much recently. The day after opening portals to let her sisters in, his visits became less frequent. Cely thought Gebel was still searching for that book, which supposed to help both of them. All the humans in the facility are dead and eaten except one who Gebel is still keeping for last. He had all demons to wait outside, having the facility all for himself. The demons, now a horde of them, are waiting outside and are growing restless for his return. The large moon still looms over them, and the nights feel longer than before. She wonders what’s going to happen next.  
  
 _ **Gebel...**_  
  
A few days pass by, and Gebel finally emerges from the roof with that book in his hands. A book with symbols that glow orange. The **Libre Logaeth**! There’s much rejoicing. The demons made terrible noises to him, and the Shardbinder holds up the book. They all cheered in forms of screams, roars, and many incomprehensible cries. Cely made the loudest roar she could do. Yet, she feels a small ping of worry in her mind. A glance at Gebel and she notices how disheveled he looks: dark bags under his eyes and his body thinner. The purple glass-stained crystals on his skin appear to cover his body more than ever.  
  
“Demons from Hell! I have found our salvation.” He holds his arm out across. A home for us here! Where we can feast the souls and flesh of men. With this book, I will create a piece of Hell here. A place for all of us. A place known as Hellhold! We will show them that we will be their real nightmare!” The demons cheer. “As I found this book, a demon came to me. A duke that serves the King of Kings!”  
  
“Gremory! Gremory!” They cried.  
  
“Yes! She is here with us!” Gebel points to the moon. “ **Gremory!** ” The “Moon” warps and shrinks into a figure. A woman with the upper half of a human, and lower half of a camel, she has eight arms, each of them wearing a golden bracelet. Her face covered in a white veil. On her back is a large ring projecting an image of the crescent moon. All the demons save Cely bowed to Gebel and Gremory. The giant Lili quickly notices she’s the only not to bow and hastily kneels awkwardly.  
  
“Master Gebel...” The Moon Demon hovers behind him. “I know a place to summon Hellhold. Not here. Use your book to take all of us there, along with this building. It will be part of Hellhold. I will guide you...”  
  
Gebel nods in acknowledgment. “Soon....” He looks at the demons, then Cely. For a moment, he felt pain but shakes it off as he looks into the crowds. “Soon! When we bring Hellhold, we will bring **Bael** to this World! The King of Kings!” And the demons went wild! To them, Bael is absolute, a king. A beast is so powerful that just his presence here on Earth can bring catastrophic doom. His form is too incomprehensible even to the demons.

“All of you come into the building,” Gebel instructs. “Surround it. I will take you to a place where we will begin our work!” And the massive demon horde swarm into the building.

Cely follows her sisters, but a familiar voice in her head stops her. _“Cely....don’t go...don't follow me....”_ It’s Gebel, but he sounds so different, more human.

  
_**Gebel...?**_ She looks around. Everything moves so slow. She looks at Gebel, who looks at her, frowning.  
  
 _“Please....I’m losing myself...To the curse. Soon, I will no longer be myself. The self that was kind to you....”_  
  
 _ **But that’s good! You’re one of us! Humans are terrible.**_  
  
 _“No! Not all...Some are the worst and those who are the best....Cely, I’ve shown you both.”_  
 _ **  
I don’t understand...You let me kill those humans. Yet, books and food...  
**  
“As Human, I let you kill those who tormented you for revenge... However, the books I’ve read to you. The foods I offered... I did it to show you compassion as Human.”_  
  
Cely’s eyes widened, looking at her hands then at Gremory. Those who look at Gremory or her moon will be driven into lunacy as all the demons around her. But Cely did not. **_My sisters..._**  
  
 _“I'm sorry...They are now with Gremory as I will be.”_ He sadly proclaims. _“You are special, Cely. You did not fall into her deception! If you join Gremory and me, it will be no different than what the Alchemists did to you...”_  
  
 _ **What? No..no...**_ Cely trembles in fear. **_You wouldn’t put me in chains...Would you?_**  
  
 _“If you stay here longer, yes. Take your freedom, please...My mind is slipping away. Gremory is affecting me. Please stay away...don’t make me put you in chains and hurt you...”_ He begs.  
  
 _ **Gebel...**_ Her eyes begin to fill up in tears. **_Does that mean...?_**  
 _  
“You...been a good friend.”_  
  
 _ **Friend?**_ A word is entirely foreign to Cely.  
 _  
“Don’t worry, somewhere out there....a knight will be there. A Knight who will understand you, just like in the books.”_  
  
 _ **But you’re...my knight...in shining armor.**_ Cely recalls the book that Gebel read to her.  
  
A weak chuckle. _“No. Merely a friend and teacher...”_  
  
 ** _You’re a fool. A big dumb idiot of a jerk..._**  
  
 _“...That makes you a fool too. A big one literally.”_ Another chuckle.  
  
 ** _....Will I see you again?  
_**  
 _“No...I will die by her hands. Her name is Miriam, a Shardbinder like me. She and I made a promise. If you see her.......Tell her that I am waiting for her.”_  
  
 ** _I will miss you..._**  
  
 _“Same...now go and be happy...”_  
  
Time flows normally, and Cely quickly sets her clock to 11:25, shrinking down to normal. She runs against the flow, dodging running demons to avoid getting trampled. She’s quickly reached a giant tree and hides behind it.  
  
“Master, all demons are gathered. It is time...” Gremory hovers over the large building. She doesn’t realize Cely is missing or hiding. “Master?”  
  
Gebel hesitates and takes a deep breath. “I’m ready.” He opens the book and chants in a foreign tongue. Gremory seems to vanish and leaves a giant red moon to loom over. A giant white glyph appears above Gebel and the demons.  
  
 _“Goodbye, Cely.”_ His last words to his demonic friend before everything around him vanishes in a flash of light.  
—————-  
Cely walks to where her prison was. There’s nothing but large dirt patches and demon footprints. The Lili touches the dirt and weeps silently until her clock hits 12:25.  
Now back to being a giant, she roars at the star-filled sky and slams her fists on the ground. The forest and the villages nearby hear and feel her lament as the ground repeatedly shakes violently, and the winds blow harshly by her crying voice.  
—————-  
Somewhere Unknown  
  
“Master, it will take eight human years to begin the Ritual of the Night....”  
  
Gebel sighs. He puts on his mask and slouches on his newly-made throne. “Enough to prepare, Gremory.” Gebel smirks evilly. “Soon, I will reshuffle this world as they did to us. All will know our pain, Miriam...” Gebel looks at the ominous red moon before throwing in fits of mad laughter.


	5. A Sad, Sour Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here’s the introduction of the OCs: Knight Samuel, his mentor Maxim and the donkey Knight Theo.

Eight years later...  
  
Gunshots ring through the forest, causing birds to scatter into the sky. Three armored figures survey around the area. One of them is holding a rifle with a smoking barrel. “Nice shot, Sam.” A bearded man in his fifties with a left eye patch pats a younger man on the shoulder. “That gun suits you well.”  
  
Samuel Welhelm, or “Sam” to his friends, is a 27-year-old man who works with the Church and serves his Lord as a Knight by protecting villages from threats ranging from demons to criminals. Samuel merely nods, reloading his rifle by inserting bullets into a barrel.  
  
“Over here!” A very young Knight who turns twenty waves at the two men. They approach the spot where the creature lies. There is a dead winged pig known as the [Plume Parma](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstained.fandom.com/wiki/Plume_Parma), a demon that flattens with its inflatable body. Samuel slowly pokes it with his rifle. “Shot this demon in the stomach. It won’t pop this time.” Sam hands the young Squire a knife, “Theo, start cutting.”  
  
“Really Sam? Just because my father is a butcher?” The young recruit named Theo whines. His family comes from a line of butchers and meat cravers. Some say his family serves generations of England’s Royal Family as chefs.  
  
“Their meat is delicious. I’ll let you get the good cuts. Old man Maxim will start cooking the pots.” Samuel instructs. Theo quickly starts cutting the carcass   
  
“Old man? Pah!” Maxim lightly smacks Samuel on this head. “I may be old, but I can still shoot and stab a monster. Just ask your family!” Maxim, a great gunfighter, is the best friend of Samuel’s family who came from a line of Knights. To Samuel, he was a mentor and taught the young man how to fight, hunt, and shoot a gun. They often travel around inside and outside England to learn new things, mostly to hunt demons. To the older man, Samuel is his best student, almost like a son and hopefully surpasses him as the best shooter.  
  
Samuel smiles faintly, pulling out a golden rosary necklace. Maxim nods. “Ah, I remember. That time ten years ago, the war against those Demons....” The old man holds the necklace and clenches it tightly. “It lasted only two months, but my god, so many people, died....”  
  
Samuel can only look at Maxim then to the dirt. He and Maxim fought against the demons ten years ago. Sam, at that time, was only a teen, and many teens are sent out to battle against Hell. Through some form of miracles, he battled, survived the onslaught, and charged into an Alchemist stronghold with an exorcist to seal up the demon-spawning portal. After the war, he received a golden cross, a sign of a hero. But to Samuel, it’s anything but that. It’s a mark of shame to him. A shame because of choices he made during that time. Decisions that only a few know.  
  
Maxim hands him back the cross. “Well, time for me to gather wood, and you get some water. I’ll make sure Theo’s fine.”  
  
“Ahhhh! My finger!” Theo nicks his index finger.  
  
“Stupid fool...” Maxim grumbles.  
  
Samuel (ignoring Theo) nods and heads to a river not too far from their campsite. He removes his helmet, cups a handful of water before splashing on to his face. He sighs and looks at his reflection from the river. A young face with a claw-like scar slashed on his right cheek close to his blue eye. Bags are merely visible under his eye, indicating his lack of sleep. His short brown hair a mess from wearing his helmet most of the day. He pulls out his bota bag and fills it with water before closing it.  
  
“The sun is almost gone...” Samuel looks at the sky; then, he hears something approaching him. He quickly turns and pulls out his revolver to aim at....a white bunny? The Knight sighs, lowering his weapon before offering it a piece of dried fruit. “Don’t scare me, got it? Shoo.” He grumbles and heads back to camp.  
  
The bunny picks up the fruit and hops away. It’s heading to a large cave meant for something or someone very gigantic....  
—————  
Campsite   
  
“Any signs of John and Daniel?” Samuel grabs a piece of pork from the pan.  
  
“Still arguing with the village mayor.” Maxim takes a large bite of bread. “She’s not happy with the Church sending us here of what appears to be the home of a Rabbit Guardian.”  
  
“Guardian?” Theo stops seasoning his food. “You mean they prefer a false being than our Lord and Savior? Primitive heathens...”  
  
Maxim lets out a loud sigh. “Son, we’re Knights, not those crazy Zealots. Our job is to make the world safer, not choking people with a book. People can believe whatever they want. It brings some hope if you ask me.”  
  
“A rabbit...” Samuel reflects on the time he saw one. “This forest, is there a history behind it?”  
  
“Not much of it to be honest.” Maxim scratches his hairy chin. “I hear there was an Alchemist facility. Alchemists, the fools who broke Hell loose. The facility mysteriously vanished out of thin air. According to the mayor, she and her people were taken by slavers. They traveled at night in chains around here, and they hear a roar, and slavers were dragged into the darkness. The Guardian revealed to be a giant rabbit and broke their chains. The mayor was a little girl at that time, claiming she ‘touched’ this Guardian. Since then, they established a village closer to the forest to watch each other.” Maxim finishes up his bread and lights his cigar, not before grabbing Theo by the chest plate. “Look, Theo, to keep good graces with them, don’t dare killing rabbits, bunnies, or hares near them. Got it? Show some goddamn respect.”  
  
Theo rolls his eyes. “Aye, sir.” And Maxim releases him.  
  
“Also, if you come across a white rabbit, follow it. They say it leads to the Guardian.” The old mans puffs a smoke. “Ha! I hope they have answers.”  
  
“White rabbit?” Samuel whispers to himself. “Was it the one I saw at the river?”  
  
After they finished their meal, Samuel pours salt around their tents to keep the demons away. As he works, Theo asks, “So what’s our main objective here?”  
  
Maxim sighs as he takes off his pauldron. “There’s been reports of bandits around this area. It’s strange because they’re not looking for gold or food; they’re looking for something much bigger than that.” He continues to remove his armor. “Also, I’ve been told there’s been a surge of demons migrating up somewhere....something about a castle.”  
  
Samuel finishes up dumping salt, putting the bucket away to his tent. “That should be it...” Then a massive burst of wind blows through the forest, knocking some camp pieces of equipment and covering the tents and the Knights in salt. “.....” Samuel quickly looks around. “....Was that a roar?”  
  
“It’s Fall.” Maxim shakes off the salt. “The windiest season. Theo, stop piling the salt and watch the night! We’re covered in enough salt for demons to run away.”  
  
“But sir, it cost 250 gold!” Theo whines.  
—————  
 **They can’t be saved...  
Say the word...  
End their pain...  
FIRE!!!  
**  
“Ahhh!” Samuel wakes up from his sleeping bag, drenched in sweat. “Oh Lord, not again...” He covers his face in frustration. “Ten damn years...” He punches the ground. “Still can’t shake my nightmares away.” He sticks his head out of the tent to see the sky is still dark. Looking at the moon’s direction, it’s 3 am. Gearing up, Samuel climbs out of his salt-covered tent to see Theo on the lookout and hearing Maxim loudly snoring like a bull. Samuel pulls out a lever-action rifle and slings it to his back.  
  
“Oh, hey, Sam.” Theo greets him. “Can’t sleep?”  
  
Samuel nods, inserting bullets into the gun barrel. “Been thinking of that white rabbit...”  
  
The novice Knight scoffs. “I think it’s crazy, unbelievable. Blasphemous, maybe.”  
  
“I think there’s some truth behind it.” Samuel calmly argues back as he cocks his rifle and grabs a lantern. “I’ll scout ahead.” And quickly leaves the campsite. Further and further until he can no longer see their camp, He stops on his tracks and looks at his revolver, which he pulled out from his belt holster. The Knight looks at it for a moment, sighs as he holsters it back.  
  
“God, are you testing me? Are you torturing me? The nightmares you show me in every sleep...it’s killing me! I just....want to feel peaceful for once. I want the pain to end!” The Knight yells before taking a deep breath. “Yet, I’m denied of death...can’t even turn the gun to myself...” Samuel sighs before feeling something on his leg. He looks down to see a white bunny once again.  
  
Except it’s humping his leg.  
  
Samuel rolls his eyes and gently picks the bunny up to his face. “Don’t scare me like that again! Also, it’s not mating season yet.” He scolds before setting it down.  
  
The bunny looks at him then scratches it’s ears. It lifts its ears to look around and hops ahead.  
  
“Wait!” Samuel follows it. He wasn’t sure how deep they’re going into the dark forest, perhaps miles from his camp. According to Maxim, the white rabbit is taking him to the Rabbit Guardian, who might have the answers. When the bunny stops, he stops. “You’re quite fast.” He huffs and looks up. “What is this?” The Knight hovers his lantern over.  
  
A massive hole.  
  
“A cave?” He sticks his head to the entrance. “Total darkness, my lantern barely lights the way.” He touches the walls. “Unnatural. As if someone massive punched and kicked them....” Sam takes a step back, only to trip and fall on the ground.   
  
A giant footprint.  
  
Samuel quickly gets up, staring at what he fell. “Giant....A demon?!” He trembles a bit, scared. His arsenal isn’t meant to take down a giant demon. “You guide me to a trap, critter!” He yells at the bunny.  
  
But the bunny hops to him and nuzzles his foot, calming him down. Assuring him it wasn’t a trap, but a visit.  
  
Two large red orbs appear from the cave’s void. Eyes. Samuel feels the ground rumbling and quickly moves to a safe distance, white bunny in hand. The dark figure grips the edges and pulls itself from the cave. He couldn’t see it clearly, but whatever it is, it’s gigantic. Once it’s out of the cave, it towers Samuel and stands tall as the tallest trees. He notices the body appears feminine...  
  
Samuel couldn’t pull out his rifle, only to utter. “The Rabbit Guardian?”   
  
The bunny jumps out of his hands and hops towards the giant being. The being kneels, bringing her hand to the ground for the white bunny to hop on. She made small deep cooing noises as she pets the bunny with a finger before placing the little critter on her shoulder. She turns to look at Samuel and approaches him slowly. Every step, the ground shakes. Body shaking, Samuel wasn’t sure what to do but a standstill. Maxim told him back years ago to stand still before the bears so they won’t see him as a threat. The being is very close to him, five feet apart. Red orbs look at him with curiosity. Samuel slowly lifts his lantern to see this being.  
  
What he sees is the face of a giant Lili with scars on her chest.   
  
[A Lili! A half-rabbit demon who has lopped off many a head!](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstained.fandom.com/wiki/Lili)  
  
Without thinking, Samuel panics and runs away. He trips a few times but quickly recovers as he runs back to his camp. He has to tell Maxim and Theo that the Rabbit Guardian is a demon! A giant one.  
—————  
Eight years later, Cely hasn’t changed much. She appears brighter and calm. Body-wise, she’s a bit muscular now thanks to living in the woods. She still dons her blue playboy-like outfit with no signs of wear and tear, as if it’s part of herself. Her scars from eight years are still visible.  
  
Cely looks at the golden cross that the knight dropped when he ran off. She picks it up with her two large fingers.  
  
 ** _I like him. He didn’t attack me._** The giant Lili looks at her shoulder, where a white bunny rests. Cely smiles.  
  
 _ **I wonder if I’ll see him again?** _She holds up the golden cross. _**He’s cute.**_


	6. Every Scar...

“The Rabbit Guardian is a Lili?” Maxim puts a blanket over Samuel’s shoulders, shaking from what his student saw, and offers the Knight a flask of whiskey.  
  
“What’s a [Lili](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstained.fandom.com/wiki/Lili)?” Theo asks.  
  
Maxim explains. “A demoness with the likeness of a rabbit and human. She plays her victims and beheads them.”   
  
“Not just a Lili.” Samuel drinks some. “A massive one. She has scars around her neck.” He points around his neck and shoulders. “Nineteen or twenty, I believe.”  
  
“She alone?” Maxim looks at Samuel, deeply concerned at the revelation his apprentice brought at night. “How big?”  
  
“Seems so...” Samuel looks at the direction where he followed the rabbit. “I believe fifty feet or eight to ten full-grown men.”  
  
“Strange.” Maxim stands up, scratching his beard. “A Lili can’t be alone, usually in groups of five of them with one [Lamashtu](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstained.fandom.com/wiki/Lamashtu), their pack leader. She can’t be a giant unless those Alchemists gave her something...”  
  
“I can’t believe it!” Theo yells, throwing his gloves down in anger. “Those heathens lie to us! They’re housing a demon.” He looks at Samuel. “Why didn’t signal us to slay it? You ran away like a girl!”  
  
“Enough, Theo!” The older man gently pats Theo’s shoulder. “Sam is wise to retreat. There is no way to defeat a giant demon with our equipment.” Maxim growls. “A large Lili with scars tells us it has great experience in hunting and fighting.”  
  
“Then we need reinforcements. We need to tell the Church about this!” Theo yells.  
  
“And we will, but we need to see more. Both of you rest up! We will go deeper into the forest to look into this....giant Lili.”   
  
Theo nods. “Samuel, I thought of you as a hero. Now I see you as a coward.” And retreat to his tent.  
  
 _You’re not wrong..._  
  
Maxim heavily sighs. “I need a drink after this....”  
  
“Old man...That Lili, she didn’t chase after me when I ran.” Samuel tries to recall. “She just looked at me like a curious child. She treated that white bunny very well.”  
  
“...Being alone can do that to you. Also, Lilis’ are playful; they take you in before taking your head off.” Maxim crosses his arms to think. “The reports of bandits here and this Lili. I can’t help but think there’s a connection...”  
  
“You said the bandits are searching for something bigger than gold and food....” Samuel quickly puts the dots together and stands. “Wait, they’re going after her! Those are no ordinary bandits. They’re from the Dark Underground!”  
  
The Dark Underground is an impenetrable haven for the worst criminals and demons. The place splits into three sections: Black Market, Cold Court, and Hellish Laboratory. Each is ruled by a powerful Alchemist who escaped the prosecution of the Church. Those three Alchemists said to had played a significant role in unleashing Hell ten years ago.  
  
“We need to-!”  
  
“Hush, Samuel!” The older man puts both hands on Samuel’s shoulder. “Rest, you been through a lot. But you’re right: we must get to her. If they get her first, they’ll use her as a weapon or whatever those Alchemists would. From what you say, I doubt this Demon will go down easily.”  
  
Samuel sighs. The Knight feels a sight regret of running away. Not because Theo chewed him out for being a coward, but he wants his fate sealed. He retreats to his tent.  
  
“Sam!”  
  
Samuel turns around to see Maxim.  
  
“I know what you’re thinking. It's ten years ago, isn’t it? Look, it ain’t your fault. None of it is. We all make desperate terrible choices. For the love of God, don’t do anything bloody stupid, you hear?”  
  
Just a nod, Samuel is tired. He didn’t reply. The nightmares ten years ago haunt him and will continue to do so in his dreams.  
  
God is silent, and Samuel wants to die, but He will not let him.  
————  
Morning.  
  
“Past the river...and turn east from the boulder....” Samuel points to the map to Maxim.  
  
“Good Lord, why do I have to carry all the camping equipment?” Theo struggles to catch up with the two, with packs much bigger than him.  
  
“Because you called me a coward,” Samuel said nonchalantly.   
  
“Look, I’m sorry! I was worried about you and what you’re eating the glory!” The weight becomes too much, and Theo falls on his butt. “I want some of this too.”  
  
Sam, as usual, ignores him. “If we find that white bunny again, it’ll take us to her. I think it trusts me now.”  
  
Maxim nods. “We got time to find her. John and Daniel will join us later with horses.” He turns to Theo. “Kid, get your ass out of the dirt. No time for shitting!”  
  
“Yes, sir!” Theo lifts himself.  
  
As they go deeper into the forest, they found a piece of vast land devoid of trees and grass; only dirt and footprints of various beings. Maxim surveys the area; Samuel looks at the prints while Theo rests on a stump.  
  
Maxim sniffs the air. “You smell it? It reeks of demons....”  
  
“....I thought it was the remains of yesterday’s dinner.” Theo butts in.  
  
“....” Samuel looks at the ground. He takes out a small stone fragment from the ground. “Old man, this place used to have a building....”  
  
Maxim holds up the fragment. “According to old maps, the smell of demons and this piece.....This spot was an Alchemist facility. It disappeared eight years ago.”  
  
“What did they do here?”  
  
“Like any Alchemist scum would do...experimenting on children and demons.”  
  
Samuel thinks of the Lili with the scars. _Every scar tells a story._ He thought. “I think the Lili used to live there.”  
  
Maxim agrees. “No doubt. They had a hand in making a bunny demon into a giant monster. Their damn fault for the backfire and the destruction of this place.”  
  
“We should get moving. Time is against us...”  
  
They travel in silence, seeking any clue or the white bunny. As they search, Theo thought it was the best time to ask Maxim.  
  
“Sir, when I can use the revolver and the lever-action rifle like you and Sam?”  
  
“When you can hit the bull's eye a half-mile away and reload within seconds with the flintlock pistol.”  
  
“That’s impossible.”  
  
“Then, you stick with the flintlocks until then, kid!”  
  
As the old and young bicker over firearms, Samuel looks ahead to see someone dragging a net of something. He quickly approaches them only to trip and roll down a very steep hill.  
  
“Sam!” They both yelled.  
  
“Argh!” The Knight stops rolling and gets up with a hand on his head. He turns and looks up at the hilltop where Maxim and Theo are.  
  
“You alright!?”  
  
“Yeah!” Samuel turns to see the figure disappeared. “I saw someone... I’m going after them!” He unholsters his revolver and runs after the stranger despite Maxim’s protest. Closer he goes, and he sees a man in leathers dragging someone in a chained net. Samuel quickly hides behind a tree.  
  
 _Bandits? No. Slavers...The worst kind of criminals._  
  
The Slaver shoves the captive next to the supply crates and barrels. There is a sound of whimpering before that Slaver kicks them. “Shut your sweet hole, you rabbit! Or I’ll tear your ears and tail off!” He spits at her before leaving for a smoke. “Can’t believe that fat bastard wants her...”   
  
Samuel emerges from his hiding once the man left. He sneaks around the area, noting the horses' carriage tracks up ahead. The smell coming from the barrel is awful like something died there. If Samuel has to guess, it’s a rabbit or hare. He hopes that the white bunny isn’t one of them. Pass the barrels are crates full of weapons and gunpowder.  
  
 _Are they trying to set fire here?_  
  
Samuel’s thoughts are interrupted by a small whimpering coming from the net. The Knight slowly approaches with a gun in hand. When he sees the captive, Samuel couldn’t believe this.  
  
The captive is a Lili, aka Cely, her hands behind her head and curled up. She’s making crying sounds for help.   
  
_What?_  
  
He lowers his weapon and looks at her. She uncurls to look at him. The bunny demon looks at Samuel with curiosity.  
  
 _There are scars on her chest and shoulder...twenty scars. The same number of scars from the giant Lili I’ve met. However, her clock said 12:20, not 12:25. Could they be the same...?_  
  
A gunshot rings through the air. It’s the Slaver. “Get your hands off my treasure!” He pulls out his flintlock pistol and shoots.  
  
Samuel quickly ducks and pulls the trigger, shooting the man in the chest. The Knight runs up to him as he falls. “Right in the artery...You won’t live long...”  
  
The slaver coughs up blood. “You made...big mistake...They...the three...will find you...” His eyes roll up, and his body limps.  
  
“The three?” Samuel searches the slaver’s body for evidence. The mouth of a dead man is useless. He finds a gold coin with a glyph inscribed on it. Samuel wasn’t knowledgeable on occultism magic, but he knows it’s related to Alchemy.  
  
 _Alchemist gold. Must be from the Dark Underground._ The Knight utters, putting the coin away and holstering his gun. Returning to the captive Lili, he removes the chain net from her. “You’re free...”   
  
_Free to end my pain..._  
  
Cely, the Lili stands up, looks around then at him. She blinks, staring at him again, curiously.  
  
Samuel sighs at her inaction to do something. “Come on, get it over with it. You are late for tea if you stand there....” Noticing the time is 12:21...  
  
Before she can do anything, shouts and footsteps can be heard.   
  
_No sounds of armor plates clanging...Sounds of footsteps...Eight people are cursing in Spanish. More slavers! Must be from Spain, the last country to hold slave trading. Do they not know it’s illegal here?!_  
  
He stares at the corpse.  
  
 _They must’ve heard the shots!_  
  
He turns to face Cely. “Get out!” He points out. “Go!” He said, pulling out his rifle.   
  
A slaver points at him. “It’s those Knight bastardos!” (Bastards) Samuel quickly turns and shoots him on the spot, killing the criminal.  
  
Cely nervously steps back and runs off. More and more slavers charge at Samuel, and he quickly shoots at them with accuracy. He takes cover behind the tree to reload, nearly dodging one away from his temples.  
  
 _The slavers use muskets. Powerful but can only hold one or two bullets..._  
  
They shoot the trees Samuel is taking cover.  
  
 _They’re wasting bullets. They have to add gunpowder and clean the barrel to reload...That takes about fifteen seconds. That’s enough time._  
  
Samuel inserts the last round into his rifle. He counts to three and leaves his cover to shoot.  
  
He pulls the trigger.  
Bang!  
He pulls the lever to drop the used bullet case out while a new bullet replaces it.  
Pulls the trigger again.  
Bang!  
Pulls the level.  
Repeat.  
  
After the skirmish, Samuel sighs in relief. He shot all eight with merely a gun, a prototype. He wasn’t sure if they’re alive, but at least they’re down. He is looking around for the Lili. No signs of her. Disappointed, Sam approaches one downed and grabs him by the shirt. “Who sent you!?”  
  
Silence. The man looks at Samuel.   
  
“Answer!”  
  
And the answer is plunging a knife on Samuel’s thigh.   
  
The Knight cries in pain before pulling it out and jamming it to the man’s skull. Samuel gasps for breath, his hand on the wound.  
  
 _Bastard!_  
  
He feels unwell. His body is wobbling; his visions fade in and out.   
  
_Was I poisoned?_  
  
Blood on his hand, Samuel sees a small sliver of green liquid. He stumbles to a tree, clinging as he struggles to stand. He hears horses galloping and more men speaking Spanish. More slavers. He can’t tell how many as his senses become duller before they grab him and throw him to the dirt. Before he knows it, five on horseback circle around him with muskets aim at him. Eight or so on foot.  
  
 _“¿Qué tenemos aquí?_ ” (What do we have here?) One slaver gets off their horse and removes Samuel’s helmet.  
  
 _“Su armadura. Un caballero de inglés.”_ (His armor. An English Knight.)  
  
Another slaver on foot roughly pulls him up. “English?”  
  
“Si, (Yes)” Samuel replies and receives a punch in the gut.  
  
“You English pig! You killed my friends and released our conejo demonia (bunny demon) to the wild! Who do you think you are!?” Another punch delivers to Samuel.  
  
“What you intend to do? It doesn’t matter. You poisoned me; I’ll soon die.” He coughs up blood.  
  
The slavers laugh. “Oh no no no, mi amigo (my friend), that poison pulls you to sleep. Nice gift from those tribes in the West. We don’t kill our prisoners. By the time you wake up, you be praying for death for ages...”  
  
Samuel curses under his breath. The poison is spreading. “Slavery....is illegal to trade...here.”  
  
The same slaver chuckles. “Who said we are trading? Taking you before Fat Midas is worth more than that conejo demonio whore.”  
  
“Speaking of the whore, the conejo (bunny) is back.” Everyone but Samuel turns to see a very angry Cely.  
  
 _“Muy lindo. Ella está enojada....”_ (So cute. She is angry) He walks up to her, taunting her. “Entertain us.” He gropes her chest.  
  
 ** _Get away....  
_**  
No human can hear her thoughts, only her growls.  
  
“....” Cely swiftly grabs the taunting man by the throat and lifts him. Her left-hand holds up three fingers...  
  
Then two fingers...  
  
Lastly, one finger...(By giving them the Finger)  
  
The clock on her neck now hits 12:25, and the Lili grows into a giant. Her enormous shadow looms over Samuel, and almost everyone present.   
  
The slavers, without thinking, pull out their firearms but cannot shoot as she grows bigger, scarier. The poor man who taunted her is trapped in her hand.  
  
 _“¡Dios mío!”_ (My God!)  
  
Cely stops growing. She stands 50ft, merely past the tallest trees. She growls and lets out a roar at them. Everyone closes their ears as Samuel is let go.  
  
The Knight’s visions are blurry. His body heavy and falls to the dirt. He hears the horses’ panicking and running off. He feels the ground shaking and men shouting in Spanish. He looks at the towering monster right above him, unleashing her fury on those who harmed him.  
  
 ** _Die!_**  
  
Cely lifts her foot and slams on one slaver, a quick end. Bullets bounced off her skin but felt like a bee sting. She raises the left hand and backhands across, knocking three to the air.  
  
“¡Consigue el cañón!” (Get the cannon!)  
  
“Nuestros caballos se escaparon!” (Our horses ran off!)  
  
The remaining slavers scatter to escape Cely’s wrath. She grinds her sharp curved tipped boots and roundhouse kicks to the air. In a split second, dozens of trees are cut and fall towards the fleeing slavers.  
————  
“Sir!” Two Knights on horseback gallop to Maxim and Theo. It’s John and Daniel.  
  
“Aye, finally brought some sense to-?”  
  
BOOM!

Following blood-curdling screams and gunshots. All four turn to the source of the noise and look at each other.  
  
“Sam’s down there.” Theo looks at Maxim with concern.  
  
“And so is that Lili. Maybe those bandits too...Everyone, let’s-“ Maxim sees two lost horses wandering around. “Two Andalusians, horses from Spain.” He smiles. “Bless you, my Lord.”  
—————  
The site is a mess littered with bodies, fallen trees, and scattered supplies. The leading cause: Cely, standing in the middle of it. She opens her hand and faces the scared slaver who taunted her before.  
  
 _“Ten piedad.....”_ (Have mercy….) He begs.  
  
Giant eyes stare at the man deeply to his soul, then lets out an empty laugh. She lowers him down, not before giving him the cutthroat gesture with her thumb.  
  
The man runs off in terror.  
  
Samuel is struggling to stay awake. He couldn’t see what Cely did nor hear the terror. He can only feel the ground rumbling from Cely’s steps to him.  
  
 _Who...are you?_  
  
He sees Cely reaching out to him before slipping into darkness.


	7. ....Tells a Story

“Hold!” Maxim and his group of three Knights stay their horses at the site where Cely and Sam were. “My God, what the hell happened here?” He gets off his horse and scans the area. Supplies, bodies, devastation, and large footprints. “Everyone! Get off your horses and search for survivors! Theo, search for Sam.”  
  
“Sir!” John, Daniel, and Theo spread out.  
  
Maxim notices a man trembling in the bushes and heads to him. “Armor is from Spain?” He cleans his throat. “Saludo. Yo soy-“ (Greetings. I am-)  
  
“GET AWAY!” The Spanish man cried in English. “Demon twisted to Monster! All my friends! Dead…”  
  
“Woah, Woah. Easy!” The old man sighs a slight solace that the man spoke English to him. “Monster? Does she have rabbit ears? Dark red eyes?”  
  
“Si,” (Yes)  
  
“Sir,” That's coming from Daniel. “I found survivors! Two of them, legs broken!”  
  
“Two more!” The shout from the other side is John. “Shot, but not fatal.”  
  
“Uh, men?” Theo holds up Sam’s helmet. “I found Sam’s weapons too but not his body…”  
  
“Good! So far, that is.” Maxim yanks the man out from the bushes. “Come to the center! Let’s chat, hm? We have much to talk and plan about…” He spits on the ground before noticing a white bunny yards away.   
  
—————  
 **I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.  
Dominique, not you too….  
It’s the only way…   
Say the word.**  
  
Sam gasps and wakens, drenched in sweat. “Once again, nightmares.” He groans, attempting to get up only to feel a sharp pain on his thigh. The leaf size of his hand is wrapping the stab wound with some green sap.  
  
”Where am I?” He gazes around. “Looks like I’m in a cave. A vast void.” He feels something on the ground. “Fur?” He touches the floor that he was sleeping. “It’s very thick. Bear pelt?” He looks at a large bonfire ten feet off from him.  
  
Samuel sighs. “So far, yet I can't move without reopening my injury. At least the sun is still bright and facing here.” He looks up, wiping his head. “What occurred? I thought I was abducted by the Spanish….” Moaning, he lies on the ground when, unexpectedly, the cave shakes. “Huh?”  
  
A fifty-foot Cely wriggles her way into the cave with a human-size bag on her mouth. She flings it close by Samuel as she squeezes in. She grunts as her lower body got stuck in the gaping hole before finally entering the large cavern through the rather small passageway.  
  
Samuel just watched in shock at the giant Lili. _I wasn’t dreaming..._ The bag spills some of its contents on the fur ground to reveal fruits, vegetables, and meat that isn’t human (much of Samuel’s relief).  
  
 _The bonfire, the bag, and me...I am going to be lunch. What a great way to die…_.  
  
He flinches when the caves shake by her steps. Cely sits uncomfortably close to his right with her knees to the side with her heart-shaped tail casually swaying back and forth. She purrs a little and smiles at her damsel err, Knight in distress.  
  
 ** _How are you?_**  
  
“.....” Samuel looks up at her flabbergasted with a hint of being terrified. He awkwardly moves away to avoid getting crushed by her rump or swiped by her tail.  
  
 ** _Right. Humans can’t understand telepathy_. **She scowls, rubbing her throat. **_If only I still had my voice..._**  
  
 _Another scar on her throat…._ Samuel notices her rubbing on that spot and frowns. _Those Alchemists must’ve wrecked her chords, lessening her voice to that of an animal or primitive beast. I’m amazed she hasn’t gone insane from a lack of words.  
_  
Cely clears her throat and cracks her neck and shoulder. **_Well then, you must be famished!_** She claps her hands together, takes the bag, and dumps the rest of the contents onto a flat rock slab before placing it close to the fire.  
  
“No stew?” He looks at the food getting cooked.  
  
 ** _Oh, he finally talks!_** The bunny demon looks at him dearly and slowly picks him up. **_Wow! So small, so adorable._** She giggles as she teases him around like a doll, smiling.  
  
“Please stop. I’m going to be sick…” He protests as he wobbles back and forth.  
  
Cely stops moving him around and holds Samuel closer to her face. She sniffs the gunpowder from him and reels back from the scent. Her nose gets tickles from that of the powder.  
  
 ** _Ah….ah…!_**  
  
 _Oh, God, no!  
_  
 ** _Ah-choo!_** The dense gunpowder on his armor causes the giant bunny to let out a sneeze at him. He hides in her hands, and the powder she sneezed lands on the bonfire and….  
  
A blaze of fire erupts out from the cave.  
  
 _God, why must you torment me?_ Samuel pops out, snot-free.  
  
Cely fans the fire out as some food got burnt down. She rubs her nose on her elbow before looking down at Samuel sternly. She peels off his armor piece by piece, striping belts and bags until he’s left wearing his brown tunic and black pants with a tear on the thigh area.  
  
“….Really? At least you spared last of my clothes.”  
  
Then she looks over at the leaf covering Samuel’s wounded thigh. Cely slowly peels it to reveal a newly healed leg. A closer look is a [Fell Leaf ](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Fell+Leaf)from a Cerbera, a rare plant that is valuable for its healing properties.   
  
Samuel looks at his thigh before looking up to Cely. “Thanks?”  
  
Cely smiles with her ears and tail perk up happily. She holds up a small trinket to him with her big index finger: his golden rosary medallion.  
  
Samuel frowns “…You don’t have to hold that for me.” He softly shoves the finger away, denying it as it brought horrible memories of the demonic invasion a decade ago. “You should’ve destroyed it.”  
  
Cely tilts her head in confusion, frowning. Her ears collapse to her temples, and her tail plunges to the dirt. **_What’s wrong?_**  
  
He sighs. It seems Samuel understands Cely through her body motions. “It's worthless now.” He looks at Cely. “I’m just….fighting for a reason to live. Now, I’m at your mercy. I grow tired of living. I want people to kill me, but my body stops my head from doing so. But you, you’re perhaps the most dangerous demon in England right now….” He clutched a part of Cely’s glove. “End my life.”  
  
Cely blinks, staring at Samuel for a minute. **_What do you mean? You confuse me. I thought saving a life is what humans do?_**  
  
Samuel then punches her finger enclosed around him. “Damn you, stupid bunny! Why haven’t you killed me yet? Why did you save me back there!? I wanted to die by you! I can’t deal with the horrors that happened a decade ago! Not anymore! Ever since then, I have dreamt of nightmares!” He rants. “You’re a Lili, a demon! You’re supposed to lop heads! Why can’t you lop mines!?” He finishes, inhaling and exhale slowly. His head drops to Cely’s hand, covering his face in frustration.  
  
“.....” Cely gently relaxes her grip on Samuel. A tiny water stain is noticeable on her thumb of where his face is. Tears? Sadness? She remembers her moment of sorrow when she hears [Gebel](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstained.fandom.com/wiki/Gebel/Gallery?file=2740315985af6b4c225ff68-80826504.png) telling her to have a good life before departing with [Gremory](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstained.fandom.com/wiki/Gremory?file=Gremory_-_01.jpg).   
  
**_Gebel..._**  
  
She recalls that she wept and nearly destroyed the forest with her anger and anguish because she felt powerless to do anything about it.   
  
Now this human, Samuel, is going through a crisis. He wanted to die and pleaded for peace because he felt powerless to do anything about it.  
  
 ** _Poor weak human, just like me..._**  
  
Cely opens her palm to let Samuel stand now that the injury on his thigh is gone. She gently pushes Samuel’s chin up to see her with a finger. His eyes are full of tears. She brushes his hair before touching his scarred cheek with her index.  
  
He flinches a bit but calms as she caresses his scarred cheek. When he looks at Cely’s pale face and her red-void eyes, there is a face of worry. A face of compassion. A face of pity? He looks at her shoulders and chest, also covered in scars. He remembers his late father’s words:  
  
“Every scar tells a story, my son. Stories bring people together, no matter what it is.”  
  
As his face touched by a demon’s finger, Samuel reaches one of Cely’s scars and strokes it.   
He wishes to hear and tell the stories of their scars. But Cely’s is filled with screams, chains, Alchemists taking pieces of her flesh while and watch her only friend disappeared while Samuel fought the demonic horde, witnessed countless deaths, made decisions filled with regret, and wished for death to release him.  
  
Samuel moves his hand away, looking at Cely.  
  
Cely moves her finger away, looking at Samuel.  
  
Samuel smiles a bit. “Thanks, I guess.” He sighs and picks up the gold rosary from her giant palm.  
  
Cely lifts him closer to her face and nuzzles him gently with her ears perk up merrily.  
  
Samuel murmurs but slowly accepts the kind gesture. “I can see why they see you as their protector.” His forehead rests gently against the forehead of hers, feeling comfortable by her presence now. For a moment, it seems all the inner troubles he was holding onto are gone.  
  
….That is until the giant bunny decides to give him a “pleasant” experience: by squishing his body into her bosom, happily hugging that she found someone who understands her.   
  
**_A Knight!_** She makes a high pitch squeal. Her tail swinging wildly in excitement. _**After eight human years, I found the right you!**_  
  
“Mmmmmph!!!” The suffocating Samuel pounds her chest fanatically! _Holy Lord! Let me go! Let me go! I can’t breathe!_ He pushes himself out of the deathtrap, gasping for air. _“_ Good God! You almost-! _”_  
  
When Samuel looks up, Cely's face blossomed into a red blush with her fingers toying her right cheek.   
**_  
Oh my, naughty little human~  
_**  
“Huh?”  
  
Cely lets out a little giggle and looks down where Samuel's touching: her twins. Samuel looks down and finally sees a fatal error in judgment that every woman in Europe will kill him for this perverted act. He quickly withdraws his hand from Cely’s chest with a beet-red face of embarrassment. The bunny lets out a laugh at his doing, leaving him even more flustered.  
  
“I prefer…you not telling anyone….” A humiliated Samuel growls, turning his eyes away from Cely, still laughing at him.  
—————  
“Get that rabbit!” Maxim yells as he, John, and Daniel, ride their horses through the forest. Theo has to stay to watch over the convicted slavers who survived Cely’s wrath.  
  
The white bunny quickly sprints and hops fast as it can go. A gunshot nearly hits the critter a few feet away.  
  
“Hold fire!” The old man shouts at John. “We need it to take us to Sam...or what’s left of him.”  
  
Maxim was a great friend to Samuel’s father. Ten years ago, his father was fatally attacked by a [Blood Grinder Knight,](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Blood+Grinder+Knight) a demon knight that cuts its victims into pieces with its spinning blade. His last words to Maxim were to watch his son Samuel and to remind him to stay alive.  
  
“Damn. I’ve failed you, my friend…” Maxim whispers.  
—————  
Sam looks Cely in awe as the Lili shrinks down from fifty feet to close to Sam’s height, which is five feet, eight inches. “I see…” He tilts forward to see the clock on her neck go from 12:25 to 11:25. He hears it ticking before Cely lifts his face up with her knee.  
  
 ** _Ah, ah ah._** She flirtatiously shakes her finger. _**My face is up here.**_ Then she smacks Samuel with her tail.  
  
“Right, my apologies…” The knight slightly flushes, rubbing the slap tail mark with his thumb.  
  
Cely lets out a huff and sits down towards the bonfire with an abundance of food. Samuel joins her with the meal.  
  
 _Game meat. Apples from trees near the village. Fresh carrots and cauliflower from a farm. It looks like the villagers offered them to her…._  
  
Cely grabs a savory deer leg and devours it in a few bites while Samuel bites a baked apple. The Knight eats his fill slowly while the Bunny demon consumes everything at a rapid pace.   
  
_A price for not eating humans._ Samuel thought.  
  
Finishing their lunch, Samuel cleans his armor while Cely watches him with fondness. The Bunny has never been this close to humans for years for their safety. At times, she would scare them away, but they always come back with gifts of food and fur. Since then, she sees the sincerity of humanity and that not all are horrible as her captors. She doesn’t know what her demon-mates will think of her now; most are just too stupid to understand or see her a traitor.  
  
As Samuel finishes up, he hears horses galloping and people shouting. “Maxim?” He stands up, but Cely instinctively grabs his hand.   
  
_Her face: she doesn’t want me to take off. She wants me on her side…._ Samuel looks at her with sincerity. ”I’m going to look outside. I’ll come back to you. I promise.” He pats her head.   
  
Cely cautiously nods and releases him. Her clock is 12:23.  
  
Samuel climbs out of the cave, where he is welcomed by three horses, John and Daniel, and a distraught Maxim who runs up to Samuel before giving a back-breaking embrace. “Thank God you’re breathing fine, Samuel Welhelm! I should've been beaten your ass for this recklessness. You know I’m not ready to get haunted by your father’s ghost, and where the hell is your armor?” He releases Samuel.  
  
The Knight gleams a bit. “Sorry, old man. I didn’t mean to upset you. My armor...is in that cave.” He turns around to see the cave. “I...She saved me from the Spanish slavers.”  
  
“The big Lili?”   
  
Samuel nods. “I’ll bring her here, but firearms down, please?”  
  
Maxim nervously concedes. “I hope you tamed her. What she did to them is terror.” He turns to Daniel and John, signals them to holster their weapons, which are met with exchange stares.  
  
“It's alright,” Samuel calls out to the cave. “You can come out. They won’t hurt you!”  
  
A large glove hand pops out of the cave, followed by another hand, then a giant Cely slowly crawls out of the hole. Standing at her full fifty feet, Cely growls and looks at the five tiny humans close to her feet.  
  
“My God…what a killer rabbit she is...” Maxim looks up at the enormous Lili, stunned. “Big enough to destroy towns, maybe London.”   
  
Red orbs of her eyes glance around the area. Cely lowers herself and returns Samuel’s armor and gear from her hands. He thanks by throwing an apple to her mouth and petting her forehead, which she replies with a purr.  
  
Maxim lets out a relieved sigh. “What a miracle. We caught some slavers and found the mystery of the Rabbit Guardian, who happens to be a giant Lili…”  
  
“You can’t remain here.” Samuel frowns, hearing Cely whining in protest. “They almost caught you. More will appear.”  
  
“I hate this, but I have to agree.” Maxim holds up a slave ledger. “That Lili is on the list along with other demons and humans. We managed to free the human prisoners, but for demons, they're already dead with body parts and organs stored in barrels.  
  
Samuel looks in nausea, thinking of barrels of horrible odor earlier. “I thought slave trading is banned here in England?” He puts on his armor.  
  
“Human slave trading, not demons. They can lie and say the humans are from their colonies. Those Spaniards will go around laws for gold.”  
  
Samuel pulls out a coin with a glyph inscribed on it. “Alchemist gold. They spoke of someone named ‘Fat Midas.’”  
  
Maxim snatches the coin, looks at every detail of it. “That is the Seal of [Valefar](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstained.fandom.com/wiki/Valefar), the demon of thievery and gold.” He looks grim. “This is absolutely Fat Midas’ doing.”  
  
“Who is he, Maxim?”  
  
“Fat Midas is one of the three Alchemists that escaped from the Church’s prosecution. He rules the Black Market of the Dark Underground. It’s said his right hand can turn anything to gold, hence his name after a selfish king. He’s considered fat because his servants carry him around.”  
  
“Why would he want her?” Samuel looks at Cely, who looks worried at him. “For her [ears](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Lili+Ears) and [tail](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Lili+Tail)?” The Lili’s ears and tail quickly flop down.  
  
“I doubt it. Have you seen other massive Lilies? She’s one of a kind thanks to those fools. Fat Midas will know that he lost his shipment. We need to consult Brother Pangolin and Brother Lupin at the Knight Covenant to decide the next plans. Let’s get back to Theo.”  
  
Samuel nods as Maxim walks back to his horse. “There’s no horse for us, Lili. Guess we have to walk.”  
  
But Cely disagrees with him. **_There’s me!_** She lends her large hand to him, willing to carry him.  
  
The Knight pauses for a bit, remembering how she nearly holds him like a rag doll at the cave. He takes a breath, steps onto her hand. Cely gently plucks Samuel up and settles him on her left shoulder. **_Hold tight_**. He holds on to her hair as she hoists from the ground.  
 _  
Everything looks small._   
  
“Alright, boys and demons! Let’s g-ah!“ Cely takes a step ahead dangerously close to Maxim, who had to steer his horse away.  
  
”I apologize!” Samuel yells. “Lili, please watch your step.”  
  
 ** _Sorry!_** Cely whines and waves her hand as an apology. **_Sorry!_**  
  
Maxim groans. “To be crushed by a Lili. What an awful way to die.”   
—————  
In the area with the fallen trees...  
  
Theo sighs. ”Why do I have to watch these men?” He oversees the slavers tied together in the horse carriage the Knights found not too far. A few feet from there are the lines of bodies covered in a white blanket.   
  
“I’ll say scorch those bodies, but noooo....” Theo mocks Maxim. “We need to ship them back to Spain out of respect. My ass. They provoked so much trouble.” He spits at the ground and holds up Samuel’s revolver and lever-action rifle. “Well, Sam’s probably dead. Guess it mines now.” He proclaims, points the gun at the slavers (who are terrified), then the steeds, then a white bunny.  
  
”Oh, hey, little bunny. Want to be a guinea pig?” Theo points the gun at the rabbit, inching to pull the trigger.  
  
 ** _Ahem..._** A loud, deep voice rumbles behind Theo, and a shadow hovers over him.  
  
”Huh? Where’s the sun?” He turns around to see Cely looking down at Theo with her hands on her hip, clearly not happy with him trying to kill the white bunny. ”AHHHHHH!” Theo shoots her with Samuel’s rifle. After that shot, he struggles to pull with the lever to reload a bullet.   
  
A bullet hits her shoulder. Cely didn't flinch but twitch at the human’s arrogance. She dusts the bullet off her shoulder and growls at Theo not to do it again.  
  
”Stop, Theo!” Samuel approaches behind Cely. He scoops up the white bunny. ”She's on our side.”  
  
Maxim and the rest arrived with their steed. The old man dismounts and confiscates the rifle from Theo’s hands. He balls his fist and punches Theo. “And that’s why you ain’t bloody ready!”  
  
John and Daniel, still on their steed, watch them then exchange glances. “So, my gold is on Brother Pangolin screaming at them.”  
  
“Three hundred gold on Brother Lupin.”  
  
“Deal.”


End file.
